Malcolm Turnbull's offices in Melbourne have been targeted by protesting childcare workers with a group chaining themselves to the entrance doors and making demands for better pay.
The chained-up childcare workers have drawn a crowd outside the Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet after converging on Treasury Place soon after 8.30am on Tuesday.
Protesters said the 150,000 childcare workers nationally were "woefully" underpaid compared to other educators.
With the rally falling on International Women's Day on Tuesday, childcare union United Voice said it was high time the federal government stepped in and funnelled greater funding for fairer childcare wages.
"A responsible government that values the future of every Australian would have already fixed this injustice," the union's assistant national secretary Helen Gibbons said.
"We call on Malcolm Turnbull to fund equal pay in the 2016 federal budget."Melbourne childcare worker Samantha Leaver, one of the women who have chained themselves to the Commonwealth building doors, said she had been waiting her whole life for her job to be valued the same way as a man's.
"Educators like us are still paid one third less than those educating children a few years older, for one reason: our sector is 94 per cent female," she said.
"We are fed up. We won't die waiting for equal pay. We want Malcolm Turnbull to fix this now."He has the perfect opportunity to close the pay gap in this year's budget."
Childcare workers have a case under way before the national industrial tribunal that the female-dominated workforce is paid less than men with similar qualifications, because of an outdated notion that childcare is viewed as women's work in the home.
If the Fair Work Commission agrees with the union's claim, the government would have to decide whether to provide funding to cover the increase.
The union estimates funding the extra labour costs would be $2.7 billion over four years, equating to an extra $10 per child a day. Figures compiled by United Voice show childcare educators with a certificate III qualification earn $20.13 an hour or $39,776 a year, well below the average income of the wider workforce of almost $80,000.
Read more:
The chained-up childcare workers have drawn a crowd outside the Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet after converging on Treasury Place soon after 8.30am on Tuesday.
Protesters said the 150,000 childcare workers nationally were "woefully" underpaid compared to other educators.
With the rally falling on International Women's Day on Tuesday, childcare union United Voice said it was high time the federal government stepped in and funnelled greater funding for fairer childcare wages.
"A responsible government that values the future of every Australian would have already fixed this injustice," the union's assistant national secretary Helen Gibbons said.
"We call on Malcolm Turnbull to fund equal pay in the 2016 federal budget."Melbourne childcare worker Samantha Leaver, one of the women who have chained themselves to the Commonwealth building doors, said she had been waiting her whole life for her job to be valued the same way as a man's.
"Educators like us are still paid one third less than those educating children a few years older, for one reason: our sector is 94 per cent female," she said.
"We are fed up. We won't die waiting for equal pay. We want Malcolm Turnbull to fix this now."He has the perfect opportunity to close the pay gap in this year's budget."
Childcare workers have a case under way before the national industrial tribunal that the female-dominated workforce is paid less than men with similar qualifications, because of an outdated notion that childcare is viewed as women's work in the home.
If the Fair Work Commission agrees with the union's claim, the government would have to decide whether to provide funding to cover the increase.
The union estimates funding the extra labour costs would be $2.7 billion over four years, equating to an extra $10 per child a day. Figures compiled by United Voice show childcare educators with a certificate III qualification earn $20.13 an hour or $39,776 a year, well below the average income of the wider workforce of almost $80,000.
Read more:
No comments:
Post a Comment